Nomads You And I

Napoleon wisely observed, “We attach ourselves more readily to those whom we have benefited than to our benefactors.” Indeed, not much builds love and loyalty better than service and sacrifice, even in our children! We do those souls we shepherd a favor when we help them discover how good it feels to give, and how through sacrifice, loving bonds are woven.

Inspired by H. Jackson Brown's book "Life's Little Instruction Book",  I wrote my own customized version of that book for my own children and those whose hearts and souls are hungry for some motherly advice. If I'd had you under my roof for 20 years, here, in 20 minutes, is what you would have learned.  Originally written for my youngest daughter, 99.9% of the advice is gender neutral, so no matte...

 What does baptism accomplish? More than many realize, that is if you take God's word for it.  He's the expert, we figure, so we've opted to believe everything He says on the matter and encourage others to do the same.  1 Peter 3:21 “baptism now saves you -- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience -- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ..”  Who will b...

 If you are moments from taking your life at least call 800-273-8255 now to hear about your other options. There are always other options. Always. This is a situation. It is here. It is passing. It is here today. It may not be here tomorrow or later in your future. What matters has not been lost: An opportunity to be spiritually reborn. You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, a...

Are you wanting to grow more joy? Your Heavenly Father wants His blessed children to "love life" and "see good days" (1Peter 3:10). On this podcast I share fifteen attitudes, perspectives and pursuits that contribute to a more joy-filled Christian life. 

Weird things happen.  Like, amazing things. Bizarre things too, occasionally. Then there's the little coincidental things, followed sometimes by the jaw dropping, "You've got to be kidding me" situations.  So many curious things happen, that since 2010 I've been doing a Project 365, that is, taking at least one photo every day and captioning it (or writing an entire story).  At the end of each yea...

Why are so many young people choosing sexual purify ?  Each has their own combination of reasons.  For some, they've come to understand that "...everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:3)  They "Flee immorality because they realize "every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. "  As believers...

In a culture where people talk a lot about praying to "the universe" , my conversation with Brenden in this podcast was such a great refresher on where all our strength and hope resides: In the Creator of the Universe.  "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that the...

Mark and Cindy share some of their funniest moments.

Christianity gives a depth to friendships which would not have been experienced without the spiritual ties formed from that oneness of purpose.  In this second section of our longer conversation, Brenden Ashby (the preacher suited up jumping on the trampoline :D ) unpacks many interesting and practical ideas he has learned around forming and sustaining  spiritually supportive friendships. 

If you feel the pull of the world for your heart and soul, Brenden and I invite you to listen in while we discuss the realizations, mindsets, and habits of those who gain spiritual victory. 

There are several qualities highlighted in Sarah's life that women of God should aspire to with all our hearts. The first, is mentioned in Hebrews 11:11-14 "...Sarah ...considered Him faithful Who had promised." When Sarah considered God faithful ,she received the ability to conceive. It makes me wonder. What ability will we receive when we begin to trust whole-heartedly in God's reliability? In t...

For years there was an event that all are invited to, but I’d be the only woman who’d show up. If I kept a low enough profile, it felt as though I was a fly on the wall or had somehow been given a rare pass to look into the keyhole of the mysterious and secret society of men. This opportunity occurred on day trips riding motorcycles and ATV’s through the mountains on the logging trails of the Till...

This podcast offers some principles to help single Christian women choose wisely, and give single Christian men target areas of growth that will prepare them for a happier family life in the future. Girlfriend --- You’ll marry a man with preferences and opinions quite at variance with your own. He will have his own mixed bag of quirks, weaknesses and regrets to overcome. That being said, outside o...

When I was growing up, my mother would wake us children by opening our bedroom door and saying in her beautiful southern drawl "Rise and shine!", and that is my call to you today! In our own unique ways, let's create the "mood lighting" that shows the world how glorious our God is, until the day we are together "...in the city [that] has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the gl...

Your relationships are what you’d care about most if you knew the limit of your time on earth — not how much you earned, but how much you loved. This podcast shares practical ideas about how to love well, what real power looks like in a confident woman, what specifically a woman does whose confidence is in the Lord...and finally for the married --- how to bring your marriage relationship "closer t...

What a pleasure to get to know new people who can so enrich our lives and we their's in an exchange of unique insights and experiences.  This podcast shares "outside the box" ideas for connecting with and enjoying more the people Providence puts in your path so that you can sharpen one another to the glory of God!

"The first cause of limitless space  ...  must be infinite The first cause of endless time  ...   must be eternal The first cause of boundless energy  ...  must be all-powerful The first cause of universal interrelationships        ...     must be omnipresent The first cause if infinite complexity  ...  must be all-knowing The first cause of moral values  ...   must be moral The first cause of spi...

Not many of us have experienced a tornado, but I'd venture most of us have experienced, out of nowhere, a touching down of chaos in our lives - a layoff, a diagnosis, a death, a crime, a betrayal,  with no official warning from the National Weather Service, or anywhere else. Some have concluded that God and pain cannot coexist and that because pain does exist, God must not.  I invite you today to...

The years we lived in Oregon, I spent some time amidst the lovely and almost miraculous fluffy white powder at Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood Meadows and Ski Bowl from time to time on Mount Hood. There are no words to explain the nature experienced riding a ski lift, especially at sunset. I say "experienced" because when you are there in person, and you are feeling the crisp, cold air, and inhaling th...

Prayer changes things. If there was ever an understatement, I just said it. There is A LOT of room for growth here. A lot. In fact, I sometimes wonder if prayer is the most underutilized tool in the box. When we remember the loving nature of God’s heart combined with His omnipotence and His directive to pray, the moments we spend daily in prayer are actually some of our most efficient moments of o...

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in the world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world...Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing...I must keep alive in myself the desire of my true country [Hebrews 11:16], which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowe...

My how bland the world would be without the life lessons, foods, customs, and music of other cultures. Having just one ethnicity would be like having only one kind of flower or one kind of fruit tree.  We have so very much to learn from one another, and for that let’s be grateful. We will always have our differences, but Viva la Difference!

Do you remember the minors from the South American country some 10 years back that were trapped deep within the earth. You could probably find an interesting documentary on the heroic rescue. The story really stuck with me. And the whole time that history was unfolding, I couldn’t help but think about  the feeling of helplessness in the buried souls my heart goes out to every day.  To them, with l...

There's Amazon ratings, and then there's all the happy little product discoveries we've found first hand that have added some quality to our lives.  We love the tips we've gathered from others, so we thought others might enjoy our recommendations as well.